Return of the Centipede

 The centipede returns, marching across the cover of this hand painted journal.  I thought this little square book was finished and had set it aside, but the urge to add the critter to the cover kept nagging at me.
The pages of this book include a variety of interesting papers.  This will be a fun journal for someone to fill!  Available online at my Etsy store.

Painted Journals

Recent experiments with hand painted journal covers have been productive.  I have been using heavy recycled cover boards from discarded books and given them a new look with acrylic paints.  The painting technique involves starting with a background color and then adding a variety of colors with 'found object' stenciling.  Very fun to do and I like the playful results.  

The front and back covers are painted at the same time to allow continuity of colors, but they are each unique in all other respects.

Here is another color variation using a violet base color.

The pages are a variety of papers, including watercolor, heavy illustration and high quality text weight papers.   These would be perfect to use as visual journals.    

You can find a variety of hand made books like these in my Etsy shop.  

Journal Pages

 Zentangles with a poem by E.B. White.

The Spider's Web

The spider, dropping down from twig,

Unfolds a plan of her devising,

A thin premeditated rig

To use in rising.

And all that journey down through space,

In cool descent and loyal hearted,

She spins a ladder to the place

From where she started.

Thus I, gone forth as spiders do

In spider's web a truth discerning,

Attach one silken thread to you

For my returning.